Tea for you and me
by Crescent Luna Moon
Summary: The Shoten, a popular tea place for women to go and order tea while oogle at the workers, who are all male. So why is Ichigo working here again?  FemIchi x Many
1. Chapter 1

**Summary**: The Shoten, a popular tea place for women to go and order tea while oogle at the workers, who are all male. So why is Ichigo working here again? [FemIchi]

**Me:** I'm BACK! No I don't have WORD, but I have a program that is like word so I can get the fics out at least (**bastards who can't put WORD into new computers when they're needed...)** ANYWAY! Yes I can put my fics out now, _but_I don't have spellcheck so I have to do it the old fashion way by rereading and checking 3-4 times, even if I do it already...

A/N: SEE THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CHAPTER!

**~0~**

Tea for you and me

Chapter 1

~0~

Kurosaki Ichigo sighed as the bell tolled for the last class for the school year. She was happy, no more school for two months and it would also be her last year in high school, but right now she was simply tired after the long week of being bored and stressed with last minute tests and projects for the teachers to torture them with.

Oh how she hated Rukia's brother - the honorable Byakuya-sensei*- for the exam on every single goddamn thing they did all term, like she would remember what they did back in December! She scowled and groaned as she stretched like a feline, making her uniform ride up slightly to show off her belly.

A hand raked through her uncontrollable, spiky, orange hair that cut off a little past her shoulder. Her neck cracked from a simple turn to the side and she sighed in relief as it had been bothering her all class period and she couldn't crack it no matter what she did. After she picked up her bag from the side of her desk, her phone went off with a simple yet annoying buzzing sound. She groaned as she knew who it was, she really didn't want to answer it because of this person, but if she ignored them they just give her hell when she got home.

"What Urahara?" she asked when she finshed out her phone. The person on the other end gave a weird giggle like noise when they heard her tone.

"Maa, Maa* Ichi-chan* I was just calling to see if you wanted a ride home" the person said, their voice being a tenor and male. Ichigo gave a look out the window, scowled even more and groaned at the sight of the rain. She hated when it rained and she was not at the house.

"Yeah, see ya in a few" she said and closed her phone, knowing that Urahara would be there in about ten minutes or less depending on how the roads were. She gave a deep sigh and walked out the door, hoping to catch Rukia before she left with Renji and headed to the rich side of town to where they lived. She wasn't in luck as she saw the girl's shoe locker had the lock on it which signalled that she had left.

"Haa...can't get a break" she grumbled to herself while switching out her shoes. Once she had that finished she heard the familiar honking of Urahara's van. She looked and saw that he was right outside the gate in his green and white van that looked like his damn hat. Breathing in and preparing herself for the falling water, Ichigo lifted her bag and took off the the vehicle, her feet smacking the ground and making puddles slap near her ankles. Her clothes were not soaked, but wet and damp by the time she got into the van, her hair was the collector of most of the water and she was drying it with a towel that Urahara brought with him as he knew she didn't have one or an umbrella.

"So how was the last day?" Urahara asked as he turned the car on and sped away from the school. Ichigo noticed that his hat was off so he could see as he drove and his silvery-blonde locks was suffering an extreme case of hat hair.

"Eh, usual except with water pouring from the sky and teachers telling me to not be a delinquent next year, like it's my fault people attack me for no reason" she grumbled the last part to herself, but Urahara heard it and chuckled.

"Ah my poor Ichi-chan, well it's over and you have two months off, we'll start it by having your favorite for dinner!" he chirped to get her spirits up. Ichigo looked at Urahara and smirked, her scowl softening a bit, to show her thanks.

"Alright, Kisuke" she said the man's given name instead of his last, "How is the Shoten?" she asked about his tea shop-cafe that was becoming popular as the times changed and he was adding more items to the invitory and menu. It was also popular because it only had male workers that acted as waiters and separated into different types of women's taste of men.

"It's great! Though I had to let Yumichika and Ikkaku go today, they told me that they were going back to college to finish their last year and get their degrees so I'm short two people, though I did ask your little friend Hanatarou if he wanted a job and filled a spot, but I still need one more" he said while shrugging his shoulders.

"Ah, too bad, Yumi was fun to talk to and was very helpful on some school work that I didn't understand and Ikkaku taught me some great moves he knew, maybe they'll comeback when they finish college" she said while wringing out her uniform, it was summer so it didn't matter if it got wrinkled, it would get washed when she got home and did it herself.

"Also Hana is great, though timid and shy if he's not around people he knows" she told Kisuke so he knew ahead of time.

"Maybe, never know and thanks for the heads up. I think his cousin works for me so there might be a familiar face there for him" Kisuke said as he pulled up to a red light, Ichigo hummed at the information and continued to ring out the water in her uniform and hair. They were silent the rest of the way home until they got out of the car and into the house.

"I'm going to talk to kaa-san* and tou-san* for a while" she said once she removed her shoes and placed her bag on the hall table to put up later.

"Alright, dinner should be done in three hours" he told her, though it took about an hour to really fix and finish, but he was giving her time to visit. Ichigo nodded and went into a small room that was dimly lit with a window as the only light source. A shrine was sitting on the far wall with three pictures and a few ornaments decorating it. Ichigo smiled at the two pictures while striking a match and lighting some in-scents. She sat in front of the shrine on her knees and simply looked at the photos that were there.

A man with black hair and a goatee was smiling widely while his eyes were closed, he sat on the right. On the left sat a woman with dark-orange hair and a kind face that showed she cared and loved her family and friends. In the middle they both stood in wedding clothing, Kimonos that heightened their features as they stood before a Shinto shrine*. Ichigo let a sad look pass her face as she looked at the photos before letting a shaky breath out and opened her mouth to speak.

"Hey Kaa-san, goat face" she began, using a childish nickname for her father, "I finished my second year today, I ranked 15th! Can you believe it? This knuckle-headed girl came out at 15 in her class" she chuckled and smiled at the photos, "I hope to stay there or get a little better, but what will happen will happen, Qué Sera Sera* as they say" here her voice started to become weak and a deep, pain filled look passed through her eyes, "I miss you both terribly, I'm sorry for what happened, I wish I could of have done something other than just stand there! If I had moved then you would be here with me still" she said with a hitch in her voice.

"Kisuke is great though he is still a pervert and weird, but I wouldn't change him, he's a great godfather and I'm glad you picked him" she said as she praised her godfather. A lone tear fell from her eye before dropping to the top of her hand, the most tears she had let loose since her parents had died. Her breathing became like sobs, but no tears came while she sat there at the small shrine, looking at her parent's photos and felt sadness as well as pain fill her heart.

**~0~**

Ichigo sat at the table, her uniform was no where in sight and she was wearing casual clothes that made her look like a boy except missing a necessary detail of the male anatomy. Kisuke had made grilled pork with miso soup, rice, boiled leeks and a side of curry, all being Ichigo's favorite except the leeks, those were strictly Kisuke's area of taste. She scrunched her nose up at the man when he gobbled up the onion slices in a matter of seconds while humming in joy at the taste, he was really weird in her opinion. Ichigo grabbed a piece of pork with her chopsticks and pulled it up to her lips then took a bite when Kisuke started talking.

"I've been thinking" he said, that was never good when he said those words, "Remember when you asked me if I would let you move out and I said no?" he asked her. She nodded and finished chewing her food and swallowing before looking back to Kisuke.

"Yeah, I asked to move out last year when I was sixteen yet you said no because I was too young" she said before narrowing her eyes, "why are you bringing it up?" she asked in return. Kisuke grinned before pulling out his fan and opening it to cover his face, his hat hid the upper portion of his face and only the color of his eyes showed, which freaked her out because she knew he was going to try something.

"I'm willing to let you move out" he said and held up a hand when a giant grin came across Ichigo's face, "On one exception" he stated and received a lifting of an eyebrow, "You work at my shop as Yumi's replacement for the summer and until I can get another to work for the school year" he said. Ichigo looked at him before blinking and standing up.

"Have you been smoking the gange? If I remember correctly, your shop only has **male **workers and you only hire **male **workers because it's a tea shop for **female**customers, which I am if you forget" she said to him.

"No I was there when you were born remember?" he smirked behind his fan when she blushed in embarrassment, she was so fun to tease and too easy as well.

"Think of it this way, Ichi-chan, I let you move out, you work for me, you get money and see me only at work and weekends that you wish to visit me, sounds nice huh?" he asked though he really didn't want her to leave, but she would do it anyway after she graduated and with her working for him, not moping around the house and talk to her parent's pictures at the home built shrine. He watched Ichigo look at him before tilting her head in thought, he could see gears turning and a plan formulate in her orange haired head, she was good at planning things out yet rarely had time to use those plans.

"Just for the summer? No longer than that?" she asked and saw him nod his head, "I feel that there is another condition to this job and letting me move out so what is it?" she asked him and watched him fan his face while smiling evilly. She didn't like the feel she was getting when she saw that smile upon Kisuke's face.

"Well as you had clearly stated early that my shop only has male workers..." he stopes and saw her narrow her eyes at where he was going with his little scheme, "You have to dress up and act like a guy from the point you walk through those doors to start the day until you clock out for the day, minus your breaks" he said while adding the last bit in as he knew it would be impossible for her to act like a man when she had to use the bathroom, which is why he had put a private one in the back for his workers. He saw Ichigo staring at him with her mouth slightly open before her eyes flared to life with that inner fire she had.

**"ARE YOU CRAZY? HOW CAN I PULL THAT OFF? IF YOU FORGOTTEN ONE IMPORTANT THING IT IS THAT I HAVE THE REVERSE ANATOMY OF WHAT A GUY HAS!"**she shouted at him while grabbing the front of his shirt and shaking him. Kisuke was calm throughout her shouting and simply waited for her to stop shaking him. Once he did he closed his fan and bobbed her lightly on the head with it.

He stood up and straightened his shirt and looked at his goddaughter, there was the anatomy thing, but with the clothes she always wore, and the fact that she took after her grandmother in the breast area, she did look like a guy; a feminine guy, but a guy no less. Plus the fact of her temper that made her aggressive and prone to fights made her seem more male then female, only her female cycle made her completely male and that would only happen twice during the deal.

"Ichigo" he said her full name instead of his affectionate nickname to get her to calm and see that he was serious now, "You can do this, heck you act like a male more than a female and it's just until school starts up again, I won't pressure you after that and I'll let you go unless you wish to keep the job" he said while placing a hand onto of her's, they were smaller than his and calloused from numerous of fights she had, but they still retained the smoothness they had naturally and made you want to keep touching them. He looked up at Ichigo and saw her pulling a face that made her look younger and her scowl wasn't as prominent as it usually was so it made her look like the girl that he had taken care of for most of her life, all if you count when her parents were still alive. She sighed and lowered her head in defeat.

"Alright...when do I start?" she asked softly. Kisuke smiled at her and pulled her into a hug, mainly to remind himself that she was still here with him and not in the ground like she could have been.

"Sunday, that gives you a day of rest and preparation, I'll get your uniform and teach you some basics about what you have to do, mainly you just tell the guests what the tea is and what sweets are with it. Other than that you act like yourself that you want people to see, but be polite to the guests unless they touch you or another worker without permission, I lost Kaien that way" he said and Ichigo nodded before going back to her spot at the table, she didn't know if she could eat anymore at the moment as a knot of excitement and fear coiled in her stomach. She munched on some rice and drank some of the soup before putting it down.

"Gochisou-sama deshita*" she said before standing and picking up the rest of her food and put them away for later, right now she could eat anymore. Kisuke watched her grab her bag that was still on the hall table before heading upstairs to her room. The house was a standard two story with a small attic turned loft, three beds and two baths, kitchen and two spaces for a office, which one had been made into the shrine. Ichigo lived up in the loft since Elementary school when she started becoming distant from everyone and mostly everything until she met Rukia at the second half of her final year of Elementary school when she and her brother moved so he could be closer to his job.

Kisuke got up and put the rest of the food away once he heard the loft door close. He then went to his office to call his designer for a uniform for Ichigo. He had started to set up a schedule for her, mainly making it be at times that he would be there so no one would try anything to her. Hey he _was _her godfather so he **had **to look out for her and protect her when she couldn't and that would be at the Shoten with a few of the other workers he had to spice the place up for those odd ones. After he finished it and put it over to one side to finalize it tomorrow, he went to the shrine to pay his respects.

"Isshin, Masaki-san*, great to see you; in a sense" he said while taking his hat off his head and sitting in front of the shrine, "This are a little hectic now that Ichigo is nearly a full grown woman and ready to make the first step to leave her mark on the world, all she needs now is a man to keep her level, protect her when it is needed and love her to the fullest with her faults and insecurities and maybe heal her finally. I've done all I can to ready her and make her into someone that you'd be completely proud of, I made her be herself and let her make the choices while putting in small inputs of knowledge to make her really think about what she's doing. I hope it is enough" he finished his speech to them before sighing and closing his eyes for a brief moment to gather himself together before looking at the photo's again.

"I hope you are watching her become strong and surpass trials people had put up for her, I've set up the biggest one of all before her dating life. Watch her be all she can be while smiling at her actions and faults, Kami*-sama* knows she needs it now more than anything" he said as he got up to leave the room, the room itself held far to many memories for him and for Ichigo's parents. He stepped up to the light and looked over his shoulder one last time before clicking off the light to let the dead be at peace.

**~0~  
><strong>  
>Ichigo groaned as she lifted her head off her desk and crack her neck, gasping and moaning slightly in pain as it held a tight lock on her throat so she could barely turn it to the side. Why was she sleeping at her desk instead of her bed? She ran over last night at the final hour before it went blank and remembered she was doing her summer work early so it would be done so she didn't have to worry about it later. Looking down she have a flinch at the paper that was the final one of her essay she had to do for English, it was covered in drool, chicken scratch, and small doodle of what looked like a giant tanuki* holding a fish while dancing on a field of bees. How it looked like that was beyond her comprehension and she crumbled it up then tossed it in her waste basket that held a few other pieces of paper.<p>

"I have got to sleep in my bed, the desk isn't comfortable" she muttered to herself while slipping into the bathroom to do the daily ritual. Afterwards she walked down to see Kisuke making toast and some eggs.

"Kanpai*~!" the grown man said while tapping his foot out to a small tune that was playing on a radio. Ichigo recognized it as it being an older j-rock song, but the name and group slipped her mind as she tried to think of it. She sat down and looked out the window of the kitchen that hit the street and their front yard. She began tapping her foot in time with the songs beat, not listening to the lyrics or sounds, just the tempo.

A car slipped by and a cyclist zoomed past the house while tossing papers and ringing a small bike bell. It was calm and relaxed, but Ichigo knew it wouldn't stay for long; she knew it wouldn't as it always changed to a more chaotic and hectic way of life before it was noon. That's how her life was, one mess after another that involved her, Kisuke and his friend, that was also her godmother, Yoruichi in some way, shape or form. Kisuke turned off the toaster he had been using and brought the lightly steaming, buttery, toasted bread of goodness that saved most mornings. Ichigo grabbed one and sat it on a plate while getting up to get a thing of jam for the toast as well, hey she likes her sweets what could she say?

"Itadakimasu*" They said together when Ichigo finished retrieving her jam. She bit into the toast and hummed in approval as it laced her taste-buds with different flavors that linger from the simple piece of toast.

"Ichi-chan, I have your uniform arriving in an hour and your schedule for you to go over and see if anything needs to be changed for your convince" Kisuke told her and then munched on a dry piece of toast. Ichigo blinked before nodding and finishing her toast and grabbing another, really Kisuke made enough to feed a Navy Seal squad even when it came to toast, she believed that it came from looking after Yoruichi for so many years and knowing her ferocious appetite that went to her boobs. Ichigo scowled at that and looked down to her chest without getting Kisuke's attention, her breast weren't big, maybe a medium to large A, but nothing spectacular or even noticeable unless you saw her naked. The only upside was that she was bigger than Rukia, but man she was surrounded by girls and women at school that were packing away to sizes as large as Triple D or hell maybe even a K! Her other close friend Orihime was was an example, she wasn't much older than Ichigo and she ate the most weirdest and god awful things that would put weight on anyone, but it went to her damn boobs that were already in the large D's.

Her scowl became darker as she thought about how the gods were so unfair to her in the chest area and damned her with her obnoxious orange hair, god did she hate her features more than any other girl, why was she the different one? No one else could look like a girl and a guy at the same time only the different clothing be the change, have bright orange hair that spiked out in every general direction for no reason, creepy amber colored eyes that would flash bright ice-blue when she was fighting or extremely angry, tan skin even in the winter when she was huddled up in her dark loft, broadly chiseled facial features, weirdly shaped cheek bones, lanky limbs that didn't seem to end, and strangely soothed skin that could callous yet stay soft even after so many years of fighting and getting battle wounds and scars.

She was a freak of nature in her opinion, she healed faster than anyone she new, stronger than anyone and continued to get stronger to over come a challenge, didn't fight for herself even if she wanted to, was top of her karate class besides Tatsuki who kicked her ass so many times she had lost count, but she usually let her win because she hated hurting women as they reminded her of her mother so much when she fought them and saw a look in their eyes, and above all else she locked some of her emotions away and wouldn't let them be free as she forgot how to after so many years of surprising them.

Kisuke saw the inner conflict going through Ichigo as she had clawed four, wait five he didn't see the pinky for the light, deeply, jagged carvings of fingernails into the table and continued to repeat this process as she got angrier and angrier. What had got her worked up in a matter of three minutes? He had no clue, he wished he could get into her brain sometimes and see what was wrong and fix it instead of being hopelessly clueless. He sighed and put down his morning coffee before reaching for his fan and moving next to a seething Ichigo. As he stood next to her, he saw that she was baring her teeth and literally glaring holes into the table; poor table it never did a thing and yet it got abused. Kisuke decided to stop her before she flipped and tore the table apart, he bopped her on the head and simply gave her a blank yet waiting and slightly wondering look, a look that always got her thinking about what he was thinking and in turn forget why she was angry in the first place.

"What?" she asked as she looked at him, not sure what was going on other then the feeling of receding anger. He was using the look he gave her when she had lost control of a purely negative emotion and let it take over. She looked down when she felt a pain in her fingers and saw that she had cracked three nails, had four bloody distal phalanges* and ruined five of them enough to be considered bloody while making the table a cat toy.

"...shit" she muttered and got bopped on the head again for her language, not that Kisuke or she cared really, it was a habit that came with dealing with teachers, counselors, principles, old and traditional people, very religious people and peculiar parents with seven kids and three dogs, she wasn't sure why they would of been offended they lived in a crazy house with that many people and pets. The point was, it was a habit that Kisuke did and did it without thought anymore since she started it back in middle school when she had been fighting an upperclassman boy that started cussing up a storm when she beat him into the ground, she had returned those words tenfold without even realizing it.

"Come, schedule before uniform" Kisuke said and walked off to his office, Ichigo following behind him like the good goddaughter she was and so she would not think about whatever it was that made her prissy in the first place.

**~0~**

Kisuke's office always made her wonder if her godfather really ever left the house besides to pick her up and shop.

Wrappers, cans, paper and other trash littered the room and everywhere Ichigo looked, she saw stacks of magazines, books, charts, inventory papers, schedules and profits that scattered over the walls and the computer desk that held a laptop and PC. There was a small photo that sat next to Kisuke's PC and Ichigo knew that it was of her, her parents and Kisuke himself back when she was a small child and her parents were alive. She ignored it in favor of ridiculing her godfather.

"So when are you ever going to clean up this mess?" she asked and waved her arm to the room. Kisuke chuckled and opened his fan before waving it and prance around the room.

"Why Ichi-chan, this isn't _just _a mess. It's an _organized _mess!" Kisuke said with a smile before sitting down at his desk. Ichigo blinked at him before heading over to the desk as well while mumbling_ 'There's a difference?' _to no one in particular. Kisuke clicked some keys on the keyboard and pulled up a well written schedule that he made last night.

"This is the basis of what I have for your schedule, the only difference is you don't work many hours on the weekend unless I'm short handed and you get every Thursday off after two weeks of training and working" he told her while typing in more keys to bring up some other things that look like profiles and charts of the Shoten.

"This is who you and Hanatarou will be working under and getting trained by for two weeks. Chifer Ulquiorra, he's the head of my staff and has been working for me the longest besides my assistants Tensai, Ururu and Jenta" he said and printed out the profile of Ulquiorra for Ichigo to look at, "Hanatarou has one as well and will be over to look at his schedule as well as pick up his uniform so you can tell him so he won't freak out, I don't want many of the other workers to know that you're a girl as most will probably try to get their hands on you, Ichigo" Kisuke said the last part while he looked directly in her eyes.

"So to the others, minus you, Shiro- since he works there too-, and Hana, I'm a dude" she relayed the message in short, layman terms so it would be easier to tell Hana when he came over. Kisuke nodded before handing her Ulquiorra's profile.

The picture showed a man in his early to mid-twenties. Black, raven hair that curled in at the bottom in a jagged yet _"I've just had sex" _look that framed his pale face and made his emerald eyes stand out against the dark color. He looked stoic mostly and didn't seem out of the ordinary, but if Kisuke hired him and he was head of staff thence must be good at his job and followed the rules to a T. For some reason he also brought a small ring of familiarity to her, yet she couldn't remember what that was at the moment. The door bell rang and a light voice caught their attention and brought Ichigo out of her thoughts.

"Hana" she said as the voice reached her ears. She placed the paper down on the desk so it wouldn't get ruined or lost and went to let Hanatarou into the house. She opened the door and smiled at her small, black haired friend and moved to allow him access to the hall.

"Ichigo-san! It's nice to see you out of school" Hanatarou said to her. Ichigo smiled a little at her older male friend before striking up a conversation with him.

Ichigo couldn't really remember when she and Hanatarou met, but she knew that he had transferred into her school and class two years prior because of an incident with a teacher that he never really told her about other than it scared him badly enough to have him want to leave his home town. They became good friends when she saved Hanatarou from a gang that thought he was her boyfriend and wanted to use him a bait to get to her, to say that they got away with it is like saying Kisuke dropped dead after eating so many leeks, it didn't happen.

The two silenced their conversation when they got into Kisuke's office, mainly it was Hanatarou that had talked, but Ichigo had put some insights on a few things. Kisuke started filling Hanatarou in on what his schedule would be like and told him who he'd be working under even though Hanatarou had the papers he sent to the young man. Ichigo chuckled slightly when she saw that Hanatarou's schedule was almost like hers, but he had Tuesdays off instead of Thursdays after their training and he worked a different shift on the weekends though it did cross over to hers. Hanatarou turned to Ichigo when Kisuke said something about Ichigo and him working on the same floor of the Shoten.

"You're working there as well Ichigo-san?" Hanatarou asked her.

"Yeah, just for the summer though unless I wish to work more, it's part of a deal I have with Hat-n-clogs there" she said while motioning to Kisuke, who was typing up some finalization for Hanatarou's schedule and tweaking a bit of Ichigo's schedule. Hanatarou smiled at this and hugged Ichigo.

"This is great! We get to be together at work! Oh this is so exciting!" Hanatarou said and started chirping away at small details that got him riled up, Ichigo chuckled at him and found his little bursts of enthusiasm adorable as well as refreshing since not many people liked to be around her unless they were looking for a fight.

Out of everyone she knew, only Hanatarou, Rukia, Renji, Byakuya **(in his own way)**, Kisuke **(as he raised her)**,Shiro **(as he was her last living and sane relative)**,Yoruichi **(as her godmother and loving tormentor)**,Tatsuki and Orihime stayed by her in the end, a few other people tried, but their parents saw her as a delinquent and pushed them away from her. That had hurt her more than anything in the world after the loss of her parents, that will always remain number one.

Ichigo blinked when someone tapped her forehead. She saw that Kisuke was talking with a former classmate of hers, Ishida Uryuu, that got accepted into a highly prestigious designer school in the center of Tokyo a few years back before high school, it seemed as if he had been picked from his graduating class to work for Kisuke's clothing supply shop on the east side of Tokyo now, a few hours away from Karakura Town. She saw that Hanatarou had been at the side of Kisuke and looking at his uniform and speaking to another former classmate, Hirako Shinji, that went to the same school as Ishida. If they were busy who had poked her forehead?

"Looks like the berry-hime* has come out of her daze" a almost warble-like voice said brought her to the attention to someone that looked like her albino twin.

"Shiro..." she said lowly to the albino and got a laugh in return. she sighed and groaned as the albino grabbed her and pulled her into a head lock before digging his knuckles into her scalp so she was feeling the full force of his nuggie.

"Shiro! Gerroff!" she growled before digging the heel of her foot into his toes and gaining a small yelp from him and getting him to release her.

"I was jus' teasin' cuz! Geeze is it yer time of the month or what?" he asked and got slapped upside the head by Kisuke who had heard Ichigo's growl and Shiro's yelp.

"Leave your cousin alone Shiro and for goodness sakes don't hurt her like last time" Kisuke said with a warning tone to the albino. Shiro snorted and leaned against the wall while pulling Ichigo's next to him, liking to have her nearby when he was home for two reasons, she was the baby of the family and last female of their line. Ichigo growled a little, but let the albino do his weird thing with being close to her as possible with no tipping into the forbidden area of incest. One thing bugged her before she blinked and turned to her cousin to ask what that bugging was.

"Where were you Shiro?" she asked the albino and got a laugh in return.

"Thought you'd ask tha' w'en ya firs' sa' me" he said in his weird accent that he had somehow obtained from living in the Aichi prefecture* where he had grew up until a few years back.

"Just answer the damn question Shiro" she said heatedly, not really happy with him for headlocking and noggieing her a few minutes ago.

"Alrigh', alrigh' chill cuz" he said while running a hand through her hair to calm her slightly, "I wen' an' visi'ed ma ol' man" he said simply to her. Ichigo blinked then remembered that it was the only time he was allowed to visit his dad.

"I see, did the doctors say anything?" She asked, she knew that her uncle was in a bad condition that made him unable to take care of Shiro, which was why he lived with her and Kisuke. She saw Shiro's gaze shift away from her.

"They're tranferin' 'im ta the institute in the U.S. He had gotten picked ta try the program, but since I'm his las' family besides ya I had ta revoke my contact with him an' sign the transfer papers" Shiro said lowly to her, which made her know that he was upset with the situation. Ichigo sighed sadly before laying a hand on Shiro's arm, knowing that he didn't like to hug someone unless it was necessary and unavoidable.

She knew how Shiro hid his feelings like herself, they grew up together so they knew each other better than anyone else, Kisuke and their friends included. She wanted to collapse and scream in frustration, it wasn't fair! Her cousin had to suffer and loose contact with his father because of the damn program that didn't have a 80% chance of curing him and had a higher chance of making him worse or; grinningly horrible yet, kill him in the process. She shook as she stood next to Shiro, her head was lowered to where her hair covered her eyes; she wouldn't let the tears fall, she wouldn't let her heart open up, not now, not ever.

She was pulled back to reality by the small group in front of Kisuke's desk and she twitched when she saw the uniform that Kisuke had specially made for her. She felt her eye twitch before she screamed in pure rage and storm away with a threat of ripping some balls off if she was forced to wear that uniform that clashed horribly with her hair and was to revealing. She slammed her loft door close and locked the door then threw herself on her bed.

_**'My life is in HELL' **_she said in her mind as she tried to smother herself with a pillow.

**~0~**

**Me:**Well there is chapter 1, yeah it is a little fast for a first chapter, but it will slow down, this was just to get a few things out there.

First thing first, no it's not yaoi or salsh, **OMG **I know I've never done a Het fic or gender-bent character before so bare with me if there is some weirdness later in chapters.

Secondly...this was a dare from one of my good friends that wanted me to try fem!characters since I've got several plots that **DO **have fem!characters because of a certain author (**coughBunnicough**) that is known to genderbend Ichigo in several stories.

Also my friend wanted me to use Japanese words and show what they mean since she's learning as well so all the little stars**(*) **are for her and to other people who wish to learn them. There are also terms that people don't seem to know in English as well so they are stared as well.

Finally I hope you like it and continue to read as well as review.

**Terms:  
><strong>  
>* Sensei - A term used to someone of notable status as a Teacher, Professor or Doctor of any sorts.<p>

* "Maa, Maa" - Like saying 'Hey, Hey' in an off-handed gesture towards someone who is aggravated, though the person saying it is usually trying to make light of the tone they are using or of the situation.

* Chan - a term used for someone that is your junior, to show affection towards someone or tease someone, or to someone your senior whom you highly adore as a lover or good friend.

* A common way to say mother, respectable term is Okaa-san.

* A common way to say father, respectable term is Otou-san.

* A Shrine that holds ceremonies and is used for praying for luck or to the gods for something good to happen as well as for having a fortune drawn every new year.

* Spanish. "What will be will be" simply a meaning that is commonly used worldwide and is like 'If it's meant to happen it will happen'.

* "Thank you for a good meal" always said after a meal unless something of importance comes up or someone is mad or rude.

* Kami-sama - a term for a deity, can be used for any sort of God or Deity.

* Sama - a term used for a highly respectable person, more respectable than 'san', and is often used for a president of a large company, head of a gang, people of royal blood, Yakuza or nobility.

* A common term used for a Raccoon Dog.

* "Cheers!" only said during the making or consumption of toast.

* "I humbly receive" used before eating a meal, like Bón appetite and it is a way of saying grace.

* Scientific word for fingertips, often used by doctors/Veterinarians, Anthropologists, Paleontologists, Zoologists, etc.

* Hime - The term used for princess, more often it is used by lovers, parents and friends for affectionate pet names and family members who highly adore someone within the family.

* Aichi prefecture is part of the main island of Japan (Honshu) and is a little South-West of the Tokyo.


	2. Chapter 2

**Tea for You and Me**

**Note**: Only Kisuke, Shiro and Hana know that Ichigo is a girl, everyone thinks she is a guy, it will show in pov changes.

**Chapter 2**

Ichigo glared accordingly to Kisuke as she moved stiflingly in her black suit. It was a standard black one; stiff, unwrinkled, black with little silver buttons at the bottom of the sleeves and inside the suit to make it decretive. Though Ichigo didn't like it much, she chose it over the one Kisuke had picked out from Uryuu and Shinji's line up. She shivered as she remembered all the horribly clashing colors and weird designs, who in their right mind would even think of wearing it?

She shivered at the thought of the other suit before she adjusted her white tie with small hints of black etched into the sides. The tie wasn't necessary, but it set her apart from most of the workers at the Shoten; Kisuke said that only the rebellious ones wore a tie and the formal wore bow-ties or nothing to cover up the white satin, button up shirt beneath it. Ichigo looked over to Kisuke and saw that he was wearing a suit as well, but it was charcoal grey instead of black like hers and he wore no tie or bow-tie. She knew that Kisuke only wore a suit if he was going to be seen by customers so she knew they would be going through the front not the staff entrance, otherwise he'd wear his green and white coat as well as his clogs like usual.

"Alrighty then! Let's get to the Shoten and get this show rollin'!" Kisuke said to Ichigo and a recently arrived Shiro, who wore a whitish cream colored suit and black tie with a white swirl pattern. They looked like yin and yang, only Ichigo's hair was the wrong color and Shiro was too much of an aggressive soul to be good, too instinct driven. Both looked to each other before heading to the van, both got in the back as they wished to be as far away from Kisuke as possible on the way over.

Shiro started grumbling about the fact that he had to be driven over when he could of taken the monorail to Senbonzakura Station near it in less time since they didn't stop at red lights, but he stopped when he remembered that it was for Ichigo as it was her first day and he didn't want her to be alone with her crazed godfather for more than what was needed; his own godfather was even more psychotic, but Kisuke was right behind him and was a bit of a pervert.

Ichigo and Shiro looked away to the windows when Kisuke started playing some oldie songs on the radio that sounded like a badly tuned Sanshin*. When the stopped the first time, it was to pick up Hana at his apartment complex near Agni* street. Ichigo opened the van door and greeted the older male before sliding over towards Shiro so Hana could get in. When he was situated and they drove towards their next destination, Ichigo looked at the suit Hana had to wear and smirked a little when she saw it fitted him well. It was dark, dark brown with hints of gold thread here and there to make it seem that sunlight had been caught in it and he wore a golden bow-tie to complete the whole package.

"You look good Hana" she whispered with a soft smile on her face that only Hana saw, the other two being absorbed in their own thoughts at the moment. Hana blushed a little a smiled at his friend that had the purest smile known to man. Hana thanked her and watched as she looked forward and hid that smile with her scowl like usual, Hana sighed softly as he watched her do this while mentally wishing that she would let go and be free of the turmoil's that plagued her. Ichigo was a wonderful person that sacrificed herself for the better of someone else, not caring for the consequences that would ride with it just as long as she saved someone from losing themselves.

He remembered once that she nearly got expelled because she took the blame for her old friend Sado, then he had still lived in Japan, when some people jumped him for no real reason other than they could and he wouldn't fight back. Hana and Tatsuki had seen the fight and if it wasn't for them, Ichigo would've been expelled. Other than the expelled part, Hana saw that Ichigo cared very much for her friends, they were her family just like Kisuke and Shiro and she would even lay her life on the line for someone if it was needed.

He blinked out of his memories in time to see them pull up to the Shoten. Ichigo and Hana were gobsmacked at the sight since neither had been around the Shoten, though Ichigo vaguely remembers coming to the grand opening years ago. It was a five story tall, white building with a cellar for wine and a freezer, a large wall of glass and steel let the customers look out to the open water nearby as well as the lower gardens that had been installed just two years prior. If Kisuke or Shiro saw their faces, they didn't say a thing about it or show it, instead they navigated the two into the Shoten.

Once inside, Ichigo and Hana seemed to get over their shock and come back to functioning members of society. They saw many waiters going around and getting ready to open at nine as usual, though a few that rushed by running a little behind went to the stairs or elevator, cursing when they saw it was near eight thirty and they weren't ready. The group passed from the first floor to the second and saw the same thing going on then made their way to the third were Ichigo and Hana would be stationed.

The third floor seemed to be the most ready out of the floors they saw so far. Tables were ready with white cloths covering the dark cherry wood of which the table was made from. Ichigo watched as several carts came out of the floors back kitchen that had different tea cup sets upside down on small saucers and four different pots of boiled water. Ichigo looked around at the workers and saw that a few of them had ties on like her, but were colors that suited themselves instead of matching the suit.

She took note that many had been in her school just the graduating class prior to her arriving as a first year; this being in her knowledge as she had to walk by the High school to get home when Kisuke was busy and when she hung out with Rukia in her brother's classroom after school was done and all that were there was detention servers. One had particularly caught her eye that she knew by how many detentions he had served when she went into the High School, she knew right away from his blue hair and the cocky smirk that he etched into his face.

_**'Grimmjow' **_she thought to herself as she remembered several teachers shouting his name when he did things before getting into Byakuya's room for detention. How he graduated was beyond her, but she didn't dwell on it as Ulquiorra showed up at the appropriate time. Kisuke smiled at him before motioning to the back of the floor, to the offices as she heard Kisuke say the location was. Ulquiorra nodded and turned to them while the group followed him, Ichigo shivered a little as she felt a pair of eyes staring heatedly at her back. The staring made her feel like she was completely naked to whomever the eyes belonged to and her face started to heat up.

Her face was red by the time they entered the office area, more specifically Ulquiorra's joint office with Kisuke's personal one. She stood behind Shiro and Hana so she could make her face stop being flushed from the guy that stared at her. She didn't hear Kisuke telling Ulquiorra about her and Hana being under his command for two weeks nor did she hear Kisuke dismiss Shiro. Her eyes were shut as she finally calmed down and opened when Kisuke called her name.

"Hm?" she hummed and opened her eyes to see the three remaining occupants staring at her. Her face heated up again from them catching her off guard and she cleared her throat to make them stop staring at her. It worked at they looked away to another spot of the room. Ichigo mentally sighed before catching Kisuke's eye so he could finish the information giving.

"Right" Kisuke started, "As I was saying, Ichigo and Hanatarou are here for the summer to fill Madarame-san and Ayasegawa-san's spots until they go back for their final year of schooling" Kisuke finished the small tidbit of them being hired before leaning in a little to say something to Ulquiorra, "Ichigo is my godchild and therefore is to be protected from the other's, though Ichigo can fight back if needed, but if anyway sexual advances come around, stop it quickly" he said the last bit lowly so Ichigo couldn't hear. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the secret whispering Kisuke was doing with Ulquiorra, though she knew she'd never get the information out from either as Kisuke was secretive and Ulquiorra seemed to hold onto information tightly.

"Now I leave you for now as I have a meeting in less than an hour and have to go" Kisuke said as his watch beeped at him, "I'll see you when I get back so behave and listen to Chifer-san Ichigo" he told her, he received a glare and mental finger for it as the suit didn't let her make a proper one yet. He then left the trio to themselves to a silence that none seemed to have the courage to break until Ulquiorra did just that.

"Seeing as today is just you're first day, you're not going onto the floor just the moment" he spoke with little to no emotion written in his voice or show on his face. Ichigo felt a small shiver go through her as his voice washed over her like ice water, but she didn't show the weakness to the man in front of her. Hana on the other hand had a small body spasm with the cool voice from their manager.

"What would you like to start us on today?" Ichigo asked him so the quietness wouldn't set in again. Ulquiorra looked at her and seemed to analyze her from the way he looked at her.

Ulquiorra stared at Ichigo and wondered what this boy was doing here if he was Kisuke's godson; he doubted that Kisuke would let him work here on his own unless there was an agreement between them, which he guessed had to be the only solution. He blinked when the boy had spoken, his voice was light and slightly feminine to the touch of where if he were a woman it would fit him. Ulquiorra couldn't believe that he _**wasn't **_a woman with how feminine he looked, but he left the comment to himself as he saw something in Ichigo's posture and body that made a few questions run through his mind.

After a moment of silence, Ulquiorra spoke again.

"Today we go over the basics, more specifically, greetings and making the Shoten tea" Ulquiorra set the goal to have it done by the end of the shift an set to work with them.

By the end of the shift, Hana had the greeting down and was a little iffy on the tea, but over all he had the basics. Ichigo on the other hand was about ready to kill Ulquiorra and storm out of the office in a childish fit. Her greeting was amateur at best and her tea was stronger than necessary , about to the point at the customer might go into a slight caffeine shock if they took too big of a drink. Ulquiorra seemed to have a tic mark above his left eyebrow by the end of this and let Hana leave to go and wait for Shiro and Kisuke. He made Ichigo stay behind to question her and see if there was anything he could do to help her without insulting her too much.

"Just go and say it, I suck at this" Ulquiorra heard Ichigo say from the side of the room near Kisuke's office, her back was to him and her head was slightly cocked to where her words would carry to him.

"It's true that you need work in this area, which is why we have the two week period if needed. You do have potential, just need a lot of work to bring that potential out" Ulquiorra said to her. Ichigo turned to him and nodded before giving a light smirkish-smile and headed to the door.

"See ya" she said to him before opening the door.

"I shall see you tomorrow Kurosaki-san" Ulquiorra replied just a few seconds before she left the room. He then set to fixing his office.

Ulquiorra picked up the cups of tea that he had let Hana and Ichigo used during the training. Ulquiorra looked down at the type of tea each had used to see what they had used and saw that they were very different, which would count for how their overall performance differentiated and how Ichigo's came off strong. Hana had used a simple green tea with a small hint of lemon, soothing and was considered a healer's tea as it had many antioxidants in it and was nearly tasteless besides the lemon. Ichigo on the other hand had used a black tea which counted a lot for the strong taste and caffeine hit as it had more oxidants and a higher amount of caffeine then the green did.

Ulquiorra noted that he tried to make a Masala Chai*, but added a little too much tea herbs to pull it off. Other than the slight tip off of the herbs, his tea was flawless.

_**'Only your greeting needs work, Ichigo Kurosaki'**_ he thought to himself as he sipped the slightly blotched Masala Chai.

**~0~**

Ichigo stepped off the last stair before getting pulled behind a wall with a small, unnoticeable squeak escaping her mouth. She felt her back hit the wall and her eyes lift up to see Shiro looking her over with a hand placed in the center if her chest, a move he used when he was worried about something that dealt with her. She didn't know that he was looking over her to see if Ulquiorra had done anything to her that would make him have to kill the quiet man.

"Shiro" she growled lowly in her throat as Shiro didn't let her up from the wall. Shiro didn't even blinked as he scanned for anything out of the ordinary before taking in a deep breath and letting her go, which ended up with him getting hit with a fist in the bicep. He smirked a little at how his younger cousin acted childishly even though they were just a year apart. She was maternal and driven with a fire of will to protect someone while acting childish towards things that made no sense to her, yet she had words that went beyond her years. Shiro on the other hand counted himself to be more instinctual driven of the two and more level headed and while he was not as wise as Ichigo, he was more cleaver and smarter than her.

"How was trainin' with 'Qiorra?" Shiro asked, purposely chopping Ulquiorra's name. Ichigo blinked at the chopped name and rolled her eyes to it before telling him the details he wanted, even the blotched of the tea.

"Wha' type did ya use?" he asked afterwards as they waited for Kisuke and Hana, the latter had chosen to watch the other workers on the top two floors for a little while before they had to go.

"Black. Why you asking?" she replied with a slight confusion written on her face.

"It's the type of tea ya used tha' made him say ya blotch' it up. I did the same when I started, but I had use' a oolong blend an' added too little of it in the cup, you migh' had added a tad too much since black tea blends are generally strong" Shiro told her and got a mix of a shock and a dumbfounded look, which made his grin at the sight. He knew right away that she had not really taken note of what she had done, instead she just .did as she usually did at home; which was correct, just needed a slight tune up.

"'Quiorra migh' know by now tha' ya had use' too much an' won't say anything tomorrow 'bout it" Shiro continued before grabbing her arm and reeling her to the front as he caught sight of Hana and Kisuke heading to the front. Ichigo blinked while thinking about her cousin's words.

_**'I'll have to wait and see if he's right'**_

**~0~**

"Hey! Ulquiorra!" an annoyingly loud voice rang from the opening of the office that the pale raven had occupied all day instead of leaving and watching over the third floor like usual. Green, emerald like eyes looked at the owner of the voice and stared at him blankly.

"Grimmjow" was all he said; as acknowledgment or just to say 'get the hell out' was anyone's assumption, but the bluenette knew better then assume that it mention either of the two in any sort of greeting.

"Who were the two newbies?" he asked, knowing that anyone going into the offices dressed like that were workers and not any sort of business workers.

"Two new workers taking over for Madarame and Ayasegawa" was all the pale man said while he packed away the papers that held information on the new workers into his side bag. He got a grunt from the bluenette and knew what he was gonna ask, he'd known how to read him since middle school when they met.

"You'll meet them in two weeks after training, you know that, Urahara-san doesn't like information being told before a set time, so be patient" he said in a monotonic rhythm. Grimmjow grunt before going quiet and thinking back to the red head he had seen.

"That red head looks like a colored Shiro, ya know" he said off handedly, not really looking for an answer.

"That may be because they're related" Ulquiorra said to satisfy his friends unheard begging for knowledge of the new workers. He'd probably get his head chewed later if Grimmjow went snooping for more information, but it wouldn't lead back to him as he knew that Grimmjow wouldn't let him get in trouble. It's how things worked with them, he got basic information through backgrounded sources and Grimmjow obtained the rest through the main ones while holding the small detail of Ulquiorra starting the info gathering, it evened out to where they got the whole story eventually.

"Huh, well isn't that interesting, who knew the albino had a relative living in the city?" Grimmjow pondered aloud while thinking on all the things he knew about Shiro.

The man was a recent high school graduate with a single father that he never bothered to mention much about, other thence was ill. Lived on his own, as far as he knew. He knew Urahara somehow and obtained a job through him while still in high school. Had a cocky and an _I-take-no-shit-from-you_ attitude while showing no sign of a caring side or even remote happy side; much like most of the workers on floor three, those who had such feelings went to floor one or five. He also held many secrets, it was written in his very being that made you constantly wander near him to see if you could steal at least one of those tightly sealed whispers of gossip.

Now the little fucker had a relative that no one knew about, besides Urahara it seemed. Grimmjow grinned like a cat at the thought of the new game that just appeared in his lap.

_**'Perfect timing too, I was starting to get bored' **_he thought to himself before following Ulquiorra down the stairwell to the bottom floor and out the worker entrance, hearing the automatic lock click when it closed, and into their shared car. Grimmjow started the car and pulled out of the parking spot behind the Shoten and barreled down the road when out of the parking lot before Ulquiorra could comment on the amount of damage he could cause the car from his reckless driving habits. Who the fuck cared? He still had enough points on his license and was never caught by the police after the third time when he first started driving.

Beside him in shotgun, green eyes closed to stop seeing the buildings whip past like trees in the wind.

**~0~**

**Me**: Hello, lovelies! Sorry it's been a few weeks, I could come up with an excuse, but I'll just say I got lazy~ -_**sheepish grin**_- Anyway I hope you liked the second chapter! Ugh I didn't like the chapter about halfway, but I couldn't see another way to put it that wouldn't end in violence and heated words, so I was stuck with this, but I think I got a small opening to shoot for the next start of the plot and I hope you'll like it.

Just to answer a quick question, Ulqui may or may not have some general plot in his head about Ichi, but ya just have ta wait and see ;).

*Okinawan musical instrument with three strings.

*Agni – Latin for Fire, short term being Agi.

*Masala Chai – An Indian subcontinent tea made from Milk, Black Tea, Indian spices and herbs


End file.
